Degradation Kinetics of Wheat Straw Mixed with Different Proportions of Berseem

Dried and ground samples of wheat straw, mixed with either. O (I), 15 (II), 30 (III) or 45 (IV) percent berseem, were incubated In nylon bags Inside the rumen of flstulated cattle, fed on wheat straw and berseem in similar proportions. The bags were incubated for 6, 11, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h. For wheat straw ‘a’ was 5.86, 5.96.6.14 and 5.53; ‘b’ was 4054, 43.35, 44.84 and 43.46, ‘c’ was 1.70, 1.99, 2.19 and 1.86; and Lag time (LT) was 2.10, 1.69, 1.38 and 2.03 h in animals fed on diets I, II, III, and IV, respectively. Berseem supplementation significantly (P< 0.05) reduced the lag period, however, it had no effect on water soluble fraction. Potential degradable fraction increased (P<0.01) with increasing levels of berseem upto 30 percent in the diet beyond which there was no further improvement. For the DM of mixed substrate in I, II, III and IV ‘a’ was 5.64, 8.65, 12.12 and 15.98, *b’ was 41.66, 45.66, 52.59 and 43.87, ‘c’ was 1.61, 2.16, 2.61 and 2.54; LT was2.48, 2.02, 1.15 and 1.10 h, respectively. With increased proportion of berseem In the substrate there was a significant (P<0.01) increase in ‘a’ fraction, however, ‘b’ and ‘c’ fractions (P<0.01) increased only upto 30 percent, beyond which it was reduced; LT reduced (P<0.05) with increasing proportion of berseem in the substrate. It is concluded that berseem supplementation upto 30 percent to wheat straw increased the rate and extent of degradation of DM by reducing the lag time and also by increasing the potential degradabllity of wheat straw component.